The Meanest Squirrel I Ever Met

My sister and I are both raising young readers.  This may seem like an otherwise unremarkable statement; but when you take into consideration that I am almost nine years older than my sister, the fact that we started our families only two years apart becomes a little more unusual.  I only mention this because of the impact our age difference has on the story I am about to tell you .

About the time I was growing out of children’s books, my sister was growing into them.  I have vivid memories of, as a twelve-year-old, reading books to my then-three-year old sister.  We shared a bedroom, so in order for me to get in some bedtime reading for myself, I’d have to get her to go to sleep first.  As a result, I, have my own special connection to the books that were important to my sister when she was a growing reader.

Which brings me to The Meanest Squirrel I Ever Met by Gene Zion.

My sister and I were chatting over the phone earlier this week about the books that were important to us when we were the age our children are now.  I was telling her about a few of my favorites (which I’ll post about later on) when she asked, “Do you remember the book about the squirrel?”  

And I did – vaguely.   

I got on amazon, where one seller had a copy listed for something ridiculous like $66.  I did some more poking around and – thankfully- found a used copy for just a few bucks.  When it arrived in the mail today, it was like being reunited with an old friend. 

Seeing the title page flooded me with memories of sharing this book with my sister.

I can’t wait to read it with Kiddo tonight.

What are some of your favorite books from your early reading life?  Do you still have them?  Do you share them with your kiddos?